By ADAM ATKINSON
North Country Now

CANTON -- The Canton Zoning Board of Appeals is scheduled to meet Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. to discuss and possibly decide on a zoning interpretation which has stymied plans by the Christian Fellowship Center to operate a church from 25 Court St.

The CFC expects to close on the purchase of the building and lot in the next few days.

They plan to set up office space there regardless of the ZBA’s ruling on whether they can hold church services at the location.

“We will pursue use as a church as far as is needed, but for the meantime, given that we hope to close before the ZBA will have a decision, we’ve applied for use as office space just so we can get in and begin some maintenance and also I will use it as an office (pretty inconvenient right now not having one here in Canton),” said Jamie Sinclair, the pastor of the Canton CFC congregation, on Dec. 7.

The property sits inside the village’s C1 commercial zone, which according to code, does not allow churches. The CFC’s application to locate their Canton congregation there for services was denied by Code Enforcer Jeffrey Murray several weeks ago based on the village code. There are a several other nearby zones which comprise the majority of the village which do allow churches.

A public hearing was held by the ZBA last month on the issue, with many voices in opposition to the idea. At the hearing concerns were voiced regarding the 200-foot liquor license setback rule and a desire to have a for-profit restaurant located there. Other concerns have centered around parking concerns.

At the hearing, Sinclair argued that the CFC fits the definition of a fraternal, social, educational and philanthropic organization, which is allowed in C1. He also quoted the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) which prevents discrimination of religious institutions in code matters in certain situations.

Sinclair said the church has been researching legal options if the ZBA does not reinterpret the code to allow the congregation to operate at the lot.

“If they (the ZBA) don’t rule in our favor, we will cross that bridge when we get there. I am very optimistic that they will, but I’ve also connected with a couple national level lawyers (including one of the foremost RLUIPA lawyers in the US). We’ll have options and hope this doesn’t get escalated but are also willing to do what is needed for us to use our building for worship and serving the community,” Sinclair said.

The historic building at 25 Court St. began as a gentlemen’s club and housed several restaurants over the years. The last, The Club operated by Rick Cassare, closed this summer. The lot has been listed for sale since then by the owner Custmo Inc., whose chief executive officer is listed as Alfred Cassare.

The total assessed value of the property is $250,000. It’s listed on local realty sites for $650,000.